Many AC/DC converter architectures based on rectifying elements, which may be controllable (thyristors, for example) or not (diodes, for example), assembled as a rectifying bridge, powered with an AC voltage and delivering a DC voltage, this DC voltage being possibly itself converted back into an AC voltage, are known.
The power consumption at stand-by, that is, the power consumption while the converter is powered with an AC voltage but no load extracts power from the output, is generally desired to be minimized.
Further, the inrush current, that is, the current peaks which occur for each halfwave of the AC voltage as long as the voltage across a capacitor at the output of the rectifying bridge has not reached a sufficient level and, this, particularly, in starting phases, is generally desired to be limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,154, United States Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0080630, and Japanese Publication No. JPS62135269 describe examples of AC/DC converters (all references incorporated by reference).